Man it is HOT here in Los Angeles. Thankfully I had lots of tennis to keep me indoors…

Ball bounce: Here are some CBS Sports stats from today’s Venus/Ivanovic match: average number of times Venus bounces the ball before a serve = a little over three times. Ivanovic = a little over nine. (And of course, Bartoli doesn’t bounce the ball at all, and Isner bounces the ball between his legs).

Beyond the Baseline: A “Beyond the Baseline” segment from CBS had Federer commenting on his GOAT status. He said we’d be better off if no one person was given this distinction. He’d be happy enough just to have his name among the greats. Good answer.

From the New York Times: The chair ump told Serena she couldn’t read notes during changeovers (even though rules allow it). And this quip from Novak Djokovic after his marathon five-setter against Radek Stepanek: “‘I am totally exhausted; no energy… I smell my shoes — they are so stinky.”

(OT) Fanning the flames: I caught a glimpse of the new Chanel boutique on Rodeo earlier today (I went suit shopping with my friend Alexis).

The store recently opened after a ten-month redesign by architect Peter Marino. Chanel’s creative director, Karl Lagerfeld, has travelled to L.A. for the store’s grand re-opening, and Genlux magazine got a chance to ask Karl his thoughts about the City of Angels. He is amazing.

On swimming pools: “I don’t think L.A. people realize how deprived people in other cities are of pools.”

On hiking: He doesn’t. “I like to walk city streets. Hiking trails are not good with Dior Homme jackets, yes? I wouldn’t know what to wear on a hike.”

On his travel wardrobe: “My look does not change. I don’t have ‘casual’ and ‘evening’. I don’t believe in that.”

On what New York has that L.A. lacks: “Theater, delis that are walkable, and the occasional rainy day — it’s good for the soul.”

Since the U.S. Open is coming up, I thought I would take a look at some GS stats and who has been the best “also-ran” at these tourneys — i.e., the player who has lost the most number of times to the eventual champion whether it has been in the finals or the first round.

Here’s a breakdown of everyone who’s lost twice or more to the eventual Slam Champion since the 2003 Australian Open:

Correction: Apparently, recycled air gets to me more than I think, or the beginning of summer isn’t agreeing with me… or something. Because clearly I can’t read scorelines to save my life. Thanks to Bonifacio for pointing out that Volandri LOST to Kiefer in straight sets. Double le sad, because I was hoping to see more of his D&G gear at Wimbledon. Original post below.

Giant-killer Filippo Volandri translated his hot claycourt season (he beat Federer, remember?) onto grass with a straight-set win over German Nicolas Kiefer in the first round of Wimbledon…

..which is great and all, but we’re a little more interested in how he looked in his Dolce & Gabbana-designed outfit.

His grass garb: Last week we showed you Federer‘s grass season outfit by Nike, so now we’re showing you Rafa’s — that’s it, above. What do you think? Tell us! (via tennisnuts.com)

He holds yet another record: Along with his “longest winning streak on any surface” (81 matches on clay) add this: Nadal been ranked No. 2 for 98 consecutive weeks, the longest in the open era that any player’s been No. 2 without reaching No. 1. (via Orgs & Markets)

A shirtless showdown with Moya: Just watch the video below. ‘Nuf said.

(Note: this is a glimpse into his friendship with Carlos Moya, as described in Rafa’s French Open ATP Blog.)

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